


Parley

by allaire mikháil (allaire)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Gen, Not Steve Friendly, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), T'Challa is not a good fit for the New Avengers, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, actions have consequences, divided loyalities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-19 01:09:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11886726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allaire/pseuds/allaire%20mikh%C3%A1il
Summary: T'Challa offers to join the New Avengers. Tony declines politely.





	Parley

Once General Ross has resigned from his position as the US Secretary of State, Tony is invited to speak in front of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.

The leaked videos of Siberia earn him more goodwill than he would have otherwise gotten. His unilateral decision to confront two super soldiers on his own on foreign soil gets him no more than the equivalent of a stern reprimand. 

Tony is relieved.

The same most certainly doesn’t apply for his fellow former team members in absentia.

In the draft of a new resolution the majority of the UN agrees on, they get explicitly labeled as terrorists.

 _That’s got to stick in Steve’s craw_ , Tony thinks. But he’s not sure he cares anymore.

Steve and his team trampled on the last speck of his softer feelings for his former ‘friends’ when they once more proved they didn’t give a shit about anyone besides themselves with their actions during their breakout from the Raft. In total, the jailbreak amounted to five dead, three catatonic and six injured guards. Not surprisingly, the most damage had been done by Wanda. Turns out _ripping_ through a normal person’s head with her powers could lead to irreversible damage to the nervous system – who knew?

Tony scoffs.

Just when he’s prepared to leave the building, he’s accosted by two beautiful, but unsmiling women. He instantly recognizes them as members of King T’Challa’s Wakandan protection detail, the Dora Milaje.

“His majesty would like to have a word with you, Mr. Stark,” one of them announces.

Tony has to bite his lip, hard, to keep in his first irreverent reply, which would have amounted to, ‘The number of my secretary is listed on the Stark Industries website, ladies. Call and make an appointment,’ and instead smiles and dips his head.

“I would be honored. Please tell his majesty that I have a craving for Italian food.” He names his favorite restaurant in the vicinity and promises to be available at his table there for the next two hours. The bodyguards look as though they’ve bitten into something sour, but tell him that T’Challa will join him shortly.

Tony suppresses the overwhelming need to roll his eyes until they’ve walked away and steps into the car idling in front of the building with Happy behind the wheel.

“I’m in serious need of some original New York style pizza, Happy,” he announces. “You know where to go.”

***

He’s playing with his second expresso, the pizza and the tiramisu already only vague memories, when T’Challa and his entourage step up to his table.

 _Four bodyguards, really?_ Tony thinks uncharitably. Sometimes he thinks the Wakandan king simply likes surrounding himself with what, to the uninitiated, looks awfully close to a harem of young, beautiful women.

Tony left Happy and his suitcase suit outside. Admittedly, he still has his repulsor watch and the bracelets, but there’s a difference between prudence and paranoia.

Anyway, he’s glad he picked two adjoining tables.

***

Ten minutes later, he wishes he’d declined T’Challa’s request for a meeting. Their interaction has been overly polite, and nothing of substance has been said. Most of all, T’Challa has not even hinted at having been in Siberia himself, having left with Steve and Barnes, and having welcomed his former teammates to stay in Wakanda.

Finally, T’Challa breaks. “Forgive me, but I feel the need to speak freely,” he announces.

Tony nods politely to him. He knows that what he’s doing – refusing to engage – enrages people almost as much as when he talks at them incessantly. Pepper hates it when he gets like that.

“I do not understand why my offer to temporarily join the Avengers until you have managed to assemble a more in-depth lineup is something that you--“ He breaks off, frustrated.

Tony decides to throw him a life-line. “You’re wondering why I haven’t jumped at your offer to bolster our ranks, Your Majesty.”

T’Challa hasn’t offered to let Tony call him by his name. Tony wonders what his former ‘friends’ have told their landlord about him.

“Easy. You have divided loyalties, Your Majesty. Or rather, you have two different motivations that may, at times, run contrary to what’s in the best interests of the New Avengers,” he declares.

T’Challa’s so offended he’s speechless.

Tony continues mercilessly: “You are, first and foremost, the political leader of Wakanda. You have to understand that there would surely be situations in which the government of another signatory country of the Accords would not be best pleased to have you gain access to their technological, intelligence, or military matters during the course of one of our missions.”

He smiles self-deprecatingly. “Thankfully, so far, even my worst critics have agreed that SI, at least in part through my personal efforts, has been at the forefront of technological innovation. They’ve also appreciated the Avengers’ break from S.H.I.E.L.D. in 2014. For those reasons alone, they’ve given us the benefit of the doubt. Until now.

“But what would happen if one of our members was the king of a country attempting to re-enter the world after decades of isolation? Some other heads of state would be understandably cautious. How could they be certain of what would take priority in your consideration when you found yourself with valuable, sensitive information at your fingertips: your country's interests, or those of strangers?

“We get called in for assistance in all kinds of tragic, harmful, dangerous situations. Any hesitation in accepting our help might cause delays and, ultimately, loss of life.

"You get to be a superhero in the country you lead. But on the stage of the world, you might often be a liability. Whether you like it or not.

“That, however, is not even my major reservation. Your second motivation is what entirely disqualifies you in my eyes, and I can assure you, the Vision, Colonel Rhodes and the rest of my team will certainly agree with me here.”

T’Challa is looking either constipated or offended, Tony can’t decide.

“And what ‘second motivation’ would that be, Mr. Stark?” He asks stiffly.

“So far, we’ve talked about the weather, the traffic in New York, your impressions of America, and of course several UN and Accords matters,” Tony enumerates slowly. “The one topic you should have led with, the one thing that would have dispelled my doubts as to your motivations, you’ve failed to mention at all.

“Members of the same team should be able to trust one another. Trust, in turn, requires openness and honesty.

“When, exactly, were you planning on telling me that Captain Rogers and his friends are currently staying in Wakanda because you’ve offered them sanctuary?”

***

T’Challa sits quietly for a moment longer, seems to gather his thoughts about him, and then counters: “They are indeed staying at my palace. Where the Dora have their eyes on them at all times and they cannot leave without having to cross miles of Wakandan territory.”

“Until they are loaned, borrow or steal one of your jets,” Tony shoots back. “I have the footage of the Raft breakout. I wonder when and where the ‘Secret Avengers’ are going to strike next. Try again.”

“I owe a debt to Mr. Barnes,” T’Challa admits. “Ever since I discovered that he is innocent of the attack in Vienna that killed my father.”

“True. However, James Barnes has killed more than half a dozen people since he’s escaped Hydra’s influence, and over 200 people as the Winter Soldier,” Tony returns sharply. “And yes, before you mention it, the whole thing is slightly personal for me, too. He might not have murdered _your_ father, but he certainly killed _my_ parents. Whether or not he’ll ultimately end up in jail for it is not even the point; the point is that a court gets to decide over his guilt or innocence, not his self-righteous, overprotective best buddy.”

***

It goes back and forth like this for a while. If it weren’t so annoying, Tony thinks, T’Challa’s stubbornness would be kind of admirable. But he simply _cannot_ , _will not_ accept hypocritical preachings of forgiveness and ‘being the better man’ from someone who only managed to ‘rise above it all’ once he had proof that the man he was hunting down was _not_ , in fact, the murderer he was looking for.

Their discussion gets rather heated. Tony sees their waiter take refuge in the kitchen and resigns himself to avoiding his favorite restaurant for a couple of months. The Doras, seated at the next table, well within hearing distance, scowl. Tony refuses to feel threatened.

“Let’s cut this short, Your Majesty. Clearly, we won’t be able to reach a consensus on this topic. Let me reiterate my position in clear terms.

“As long as Captain Rogers’ team’s stay in Wakanda remains a secret from the UN and the world at large, we will block any attempt to put onto our team you or anyone else with an agenda that favors the rogue Avengers.

You have neither assured me that you will make certain the rogue Avengers remain under close supervision in your country, nor would I have any reason to believe you even if you did. To the contrary, at the moment I have to assume all information I share with you ends up in the possession of a man who refuses to accept any kind of oversight or accountability for his actions. A man who will wave away any and all kind of collateral damage as acceptable as long as he gets to act in a way he sees as confirming his self-chosen role as a ‘hero’.

“Let us take a look at a hypothetical situation that might soon become reality. Say, what if there was an international conflict that the New Avengers were ordered by the Accords Council to stay out of? What if Rogers planned to interfere? Could I then be certain that you wouldn’t use your access to the information accumulated for preparing the cancelled mission to help out his team?

“No,” Tony finishes his own rant, “I couldn’t.

“And one more thing, Your Majesty. I will only keep silent about the current whereabouts of the 'Secret Avengers' as long as their actions, from here on out, don’t cause as much as a single injury, much less loss of life, to innocents. I will _not_ condone vigilantism by a bunch of superpowered criminals who buck laws and borders alike in order to promote their own sense of self-aggrandizement.”

T’Challa puffs up and opens his mouth. Cat metaphors coming to mind aside, Tony is suddenly no longer in the mood for this pointless, fruitless encounter.

“Excuse me. I believe it is time for me to go. Have a nice day.”

He gets up and leaves before any of his ‘guests’ can stop him. A nod to Ray behind the counter promises prompt and reliable payment for their collective orders. The owner knows he’s good for it.

Tony slots his sunglasses into place, steps onto the sun-drenched street full of New York traffic and presses the button on his watch that will summon Happy and the limousine.

Is that a flash of red and blue on top of the building across the street? He smiles. 

Whatever T’Challa’s actions from here on out, he’s certain the New Avengers will do just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm pretty happy with my other stories, but here, far too many paragraphs feel... I don't know, clunky and cumbersome. I'd very much appreciate it if a native speaker reading this felt the urge to volunteer for a quick beta job? Pretty please?


End file.
